In commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,510 there has been disclosed a shaft mounting of this type in which the two bearing comprise sets of frustoconical roller bodies in contact with oppositely beveled peripheral zones of a surrounding bushing acting as an outer race therefor, the bushing being closely fitted into a cylindrical housing part. The bushing, for this purpose, must be carefully machined over its entire outer surface. The shaft, furthermore, must be provided with shoulder-forming enlargements preventing an axial shifting of the roller bearings.
When balls are used instead of rollers as rotary bearing bodies, grooved tracks in the shaft and in the surrounding outer race will keep these elements axially aligned. In that case, however, problems of assembly arise particularly where there are two ball bearings at opposite ends of a sleeve surrounding the shaft. German patent application No. 2,113,905 published Oct. 14, 1971, for example, shows a shaft mounting of this type in which an intermediate bushing of elastomeric material, disposed between the two bearings within their common sleeve to act as a lubricant distributor, has a tapered outer surface designed to enable a relative tilting of the sleeve and the shaft for the purpose of facilitating the introduction of the balls into their respective grooves.